“The Palestinian Authority announced over the weekend – following the Arab League meeting in Libya that gave the US a 30-day grace period to get Israel to agree to another settlement construction moratorium – that it was considering ‘alternatives’ in case the peace talks collapsed, including seeking US or UN recognition of an independent Palestinian state.”

“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told an Israeli interviewer on Sunday that he had passed on four messages to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that he was willing to accept a ‘silent freeze’ on building in the settlements to continue negotiations with Israel.”

The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947, are one of the most important archaeological findings of all time, showing that the text of the Old Testament was transmitted accurately through the centuries. Now, they’re about to get Googled.

“On Saturday, Catholic bishops from the Middle East concluded a two-week conference in Rome, Italy, with a call for the international community, especially the United Nations, to work ‘to put an end to the occupation’ of Palestinian territories.”